The Monster Lady and the Holy Knight - Chapter 10

Her words were enough to change the mood entirely. For a while, everyone stood with dumbfounded expressions. The strong grip on her arm loosened as murmurs spread through the crowd.

“The sewers? Is that true?”

“That can’t be. How could something so big fit through the sewers?”

“Couldn’t they just break through to come up? I told you earlier I heard something breaking.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

The innkeeper, who had been quiet, silenced the room with his heavy voice. As he strode toward his wife, he spoke, “The sewers of Aseldorf run deep underground and connect to the southern parts, where they meet the lower Asel River. These Bahamut must have come from Bayern in the east. How could they have gotten into the sewers?”

Veronica faltered, closing her mouth. She had assumed, like everyone else, that they had come from Bayern. But now, hearing that the sewers were connected to the south, she had no answer. Her claim that they had come through the sewers was based on little more than a hunch. Just an instinct.

“It’s madness to leave without any proof. It’s even more insane to go out there now. There might be a breach in the unfinished parts of the wall, nothing more.”

Veronica read the unspoken answer on the innkeeper’s firm face and in the way his wife leaned on his shoulder. The reactions of the others were similar. No one was willing to abandon the safety of the building without knowing what awaited them outside. She had said what she could.

Veronica nodded. “Alright. Do whatever you wish. Thank you for your kindness.”

In truth, her talk of the sewers had been both a suggestion and a ruse. She needed an opening, a chance to escape. The man’s grip had loosened, and people’s attention was diverted.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Veronica swiftly unlatched the door. As soon as the wood creaked, she kicked the door wide open. Everything that followed happened in an instant.

There were unintelligible shouts behind her, the feeling of her sword and supplies in both hands. Leon, covered in blood, turned as if he had been waiting for her and held the door firmly to prevent it from closing.

Veronica limped out of the inn as fast as she could.

Standing ready outside was a magnificent black warhorse, already prepared, as if Leon had retrieved it from the stables beforehand. He loaded the supplies she had brought onto the horse, then easily mounted it. Naturally, he extended his arm to pull her up to the front seat.

Everything moved so fast. Even though she was running on her own two feet, it felt like she was being dragged by the collar.

Just before the horse’s hooves kicked off the ground, Veronica glanced back at the closing door. The terrified people hadn’t followed her outside. The innkeeper’s wife, with whom she had shared a peaceful conversation that morning, disappeared into the shadows, her face pale with horror, consumed by the bloodbath outside.

There was no more concern or kindness left in her expression.

Veronica tightened her grip on the reins as the horse surged forward.

Warm liquid splashed onto her face, bringing a sharp sense of reality. Only then did she realize Leon had swung his sword. He held the reins with one hand and the longsword with the other, cutting down the Bahamut that charged from the front and sides without hesitation. The brilliance of the sword was blinding.

He truly is a messenger of God. A God’s judgment.

As they raced through the main street at a breakneck speed, Bahamut clung to them from all sides, drawn by the motion like ants attacking an animal that had fallen into their nest. The most horrific part was the wide plaza.

Around the central fountain, headless corpses were piled up haphazardly. She wondered why so many people had gathered there, then recalled what she had heard earlier: the refugees arriving from Bayern were gathering in the square.

She tried to turn her head to look, but Leon warned her, “If you fall, I won’t pick you up.”

She inhaled sharply and straightened up. The swiftly passing scenery made her dizzy. Stop. Stop thinking. Forget about the people of Bayern. Just focus on yourself now. I’m going to survive. I’m going to be fine. If we can just get out of the city…

“They didn’t build a wall. They built a damned grave,” Leon sneered as they approached the towering city walls.

The walls, meant to protect the city, had become a cage, making escape nearly impossible. Veronica shuddered. Why does the frog fail to escape when the water starts to boil? Why can’t it realize it’s getting hotter until its insides are fully cooked?

But what terrified her even more than the tragic situation was the intelligence of Bahamut. They could think. They knew the wall had been built to keep them out, so they had tunneled toward the nearest river.

How smart are they? As clever as a dog or a crow? As intelligent as a human? Or maybe even more so?

The city gate loomed closer, already wide open. The guards must have realized the wall hadn’t been breached and opened the gate to let the people escape.

Veronica focused on the pale archway of the gate, trying not to see the guards and civilians dying around her like a racehorse with blinders. But her eyes soon widened in horror.

“The gate… It’s closing.”

Creak, creak. The drawbridge was being raised, slowly but surely.

“Why? Are they trying to get themselves killed? Have they gone completely mad?”

Her voice trailed off. Leon finished the sentence for her.

“Or it’s not the work of humans.”

Veronica bit her lip. The bridge over the moat continued to rise.

At this rate, they wouldn’t make it across. And then? Once they were trapped here, no matter how strong Leon Berg was, it would be hard for them to survive. Even if he lived, there wouldn’t be enough time for him to protect her too.

The moment that thought crossed her mind, Veronica was consumed by overwhelming fear.

He might abandon her. If only one of them stayed behind, the horse would move faster.

In any other circumstance, the idea would have been absurd. But in her desperate situation, Veronica couldn’t think rationally. If she hadn’t witnessed the terror of Bahamut firsthand, things might have been different.

At least she wouldn’t be trembling uncontrollably, frozen with fear.

I want to live. I want to survive, desperately.

I don’t want it to end. I’m terrified of stopping my thoughts, of the black void. Of not knowing what awaits.

For the first time, she realized how little faith she had. If she truly believed in God, she wouldn’t fear the end. But deep down, she didn’t believe in God at all, which is why she feared death. When faced with suffering, humans are left with nothing but loneliness.

“Hold on tight. I’m going to run as fast as I can.”

Leon leaned forward and spurred the horse onward. The warmth of his arms wrapping around her was a blazing comfort.

They leaped over the partially raised gate. The horse reared its head and scrambled up the slick incline. And then…

Veronica squeezed her eyes shut. The sensation of her body lifting off the ground was followed by a hard thud as they landed.

She opened her eyes, feeling the pain, and saw the vast snowfield stretching out before her.

They were running. Still running. The black warhorse raced wildly, like a mule that had been tethered for years and suddenly released.

We made it.

As soon as she realized, she turned to look back. The enormous city walls were shrinking in the distance. The absurdly wide moat that must have cost a fortune to dig now looked small. And finally, with a loud crash, the gate closed completely.

“They… the people left behind… they…”

Veronica choked back a sob as she forced herself to speak.

“They’ll all die, won’t they?”

She thought of the couple she had spoken with earlier. The innkeeper’s wife, who had shown sympathy when she mentioned coming from Bayern. The innkeeper, who had guessed her situation and kindly informed her where the refugees were gathering. They had shown her kindness simply because she was a young woman like their daughter. And now, I…

“This is my fault. I knew something was wrong. From the moment we arrived, I had a strange feeling. The odd smell wasn’t a hallucination. It wasn’t something I could just ignore. It’s all my fault.”

Her self-recriminations were swallowed by the wind, barely audible as she muttered on.

She hadn’t grown attached to those people in the short time she had known them. Veronica was too pragmatic for that. She had quickly abandoned any thought of helping them to focus on saving herself.

Even her suggestion to leave had been calculated. She was a typical person who only felt guilty or sympathetic when her own survival was assured.

Veronica pitied the people locked inside, waiting for their inevitable deaths. She pitied their hopelessness. But if someone asked her whether she would go back to save them, she would answer no. Even if their terrified, despairing eyes haunted her nightmares for the rest of her life, there was nothing she could do.

In their final moments, had they thought of their daughter? Or had they simply died, overwhelmed by fear?

“Even if you had said something, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference. You were just following my orders when we escaped.”

Leon’s calm voice cut through her endless self-blame. At that moment, she realized why Leon had ordered her to obey without question. He had been offering her an escape from guilt. He was giving her a kind of absolution. He would take all the blame on himself. It had all been his decision.

Staring blankly ahead, Veronica realized she was still trembling. Noticing this, Leon pulled her closer, gripping the reins with one hand and hugging her tightly with the other. She should have hated it, but for some reason, she didn’t. The strange sense of comfort from the only warmth in the cold crept over her.